Higanbana x Tsubaki
by th3collection
Summary: A demon takes human form and through a turn of events, decides to establish her own clan in Konohagkure no Sato. (Under Revision: first chapter fixed, once the second chapter is revised a new chapter will be published)
1. Chapter 1

_"No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success._

 _Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world."_

{Mary Shelley}

* * *

Wind drew through the trees and shook angrily between buildings, slamming doors with force and whisking hats off the heads of children running in the street. The sun shown brightly through a cloud line filling the world with a bright white light.

It's a busy day like any other. Stores are overcrowded and civilians amass on the streets. Talking, laughing, having a good time. Shinobi flicker and disappear as they dart across roof tops and through narrow gaps in the crowd.

Kotetsu and Izumo slouch against Konoha's entrance walls. The voice of the busy village quieted around them, a dull murmur almost begging them to sleep. Kotetsu shakes himself and nudges Izumo, "Wake up man, if I've gotta stay up then you do too." He says shrugging. Izumo grunts a bit before replying, "Isn't my fault that we're always on guard duty. It's boring." He pauses, "And it's not like there's any action here. Never is. It's called a hidden village for a reason. There isn't ever any visitors."

"Yeah, but...Hey!" Kotetsu can't believe his eyes. "Hey lady! Stop!" The two straighten up, leaping forward and crossing their weapons in front of her. She's tall, a bit older than them. A big gust of wind blows long black strands across her face, effectively obscuring her features. When the breeze settles she smooths it back. Her lips pull in a bored sort of frown as demonic bloody-orange eyes narrow into critical look. She tucks a lock of dark hair behind a pointed, elf-like ear with clawed fingers in a slow caressing movement which seems well practiced as not to scratch herself with said talons.

"Who are you? What is your business here?" Izumo questions. Her eyes glint in what might be a fleeting moment of amusement before her bloody orbs re-focus on him. There's a suspenseful pause before she speaks.

"I've come to reclaim what is mine." She responds in a voice that isn't accustomed to the language she speaks. Her voice is laced with rough undertones which give the impression of multiple voices speaking simultaneously and an accent that Izumo can't place. In all sincerity it's creepy and gives the boy a feeling of impending dread as fear tingles down his spine and makes his hair stand on end.

"What are you talking about? What have you come to reclaim?"

She doesn't respond instead choosing only to move forward, Izumo and Kotetsu are shoved aside by some unknown force. The air knocked out of them with a resounding 'oof' as they're slammed backwards onto the ground. She moves with such grace that she appears to glide across the ground. She ignores their presence after that and wanders through Konoha. It's been a long time but she knows he's here, she can feel it. She promised herself she'd find him this time, that her eight year long would finally come to an end.

She has no issue navigating crowds, the people occupying them instinctively move out of her way and stare in awe. She's horrifyingly flawless, shrouded in a surreal aura. She's like a god in human form. Hair darker than night swirls behind her in wisps, flowing like a river.

Her facial features while without flaw are unnerving. Her eyes have a sort of glow to them and her lips purse before grimacing into a sneer of annoyance, exposing a mouth of sharp animalistic fang style teeth. _The entrance guardians must have alerted someone of her presence_ , she thinks as figures from above swoop down and surround her from all sides. She stops abruptly, hair swishing before falling listless against her back. Strands tickle her backs of her thighs as she stands tall and waits for them to attack.

They greet her with drawn weapons. "You're trespassing." A thick man with a scared face speaks.

"And you're stealing." She returns as she cooly observes her surroundings.

"Inoichi." The man says nodding to his fellow as he steps forward. This other man makes some odd finger motion and his energy rushes her. She ignores it, that sort of thing doesn't work on her anyways. The man wastes his energy trying to use an attack on her. She doesn't particularly care. _She didn't come here to deal with them._

"It's not working." He informs the scarred man.

She chuckles slightly raising the back of her hand to her mouth to quiet herself. _She's a being made of raw energy, she's a god damn demon and this puny human actually thinks he could damage her._ She scoffs at his ignorance. _These people are wasting her time. She should just pull they're stupid heads off and be done with it._ _The appearance of these shinobi has been an obstruction of her goal._ She came for _him_ not these _pathetic humans_.

A pale eyed man suddenly strikes at her. She again doesn't bother dodging nor acknowledging him. He slams his palm forward against her chest. A mistake on his part. Upon impact his hand splinters and is reduced into a mangled, bloody mess of meat while she remains unscathed. He cries out clutching his arm to his chest.

"Such a presumptuous lot. I haven't attacked a single person and yet you turn to me in violence." She sneers turning narrowing orbs on her attackers.

"Your mortality offends me." She speaks in a guttural heavy accent. Understanding shines through the scar-faced man's features.

"Whatever your business is here you'll have to take it up with the Hokage." He informs. She shrugs. It's not as if she is opposed to violence, she lives for it _really,_ she just feels that dispatching these people to hell would be... _a waste of time_.

"Then take me to your leader. You have already wasted enough of my time." She grits before an apathetic bored look descends upon her face once again. She absently tugs a piece of hair behind her ear as she turns and follows the the reach a red decorated tower. He moves to restrain her, but it soon becomes clear to him that it's just not going to _fucking_ happen. They walk inside and he stops in-front of a room with big red doors. _There is a lot of red_ she thinks.

"Lord Hokage, there is someone to see you." A guard states as she he bows and leaves. The old man sighs from behind his desk. Ibiki walks in followed by a very beautiful, very irritated woman. He knows she's a foreigner immediately. She's dressed in a man's hatori shirt which is smeared with varying shades of red stains. Even from his desk he can smell the lingering scent of newly spilled blood. Obviously the article of clothing must've been poached from a corpse as it clearly isn't her own, it sags off her shoulders and suffocates her chest.

She wears no pants nor shoes, and she bears a non-human aura which is only strengthened by her appearance; black clawed nails, marble skin which gives off an untouched by the sun look, hair darker than night, ears that come to a point, luminous eyes that seek bloodshed, and a mouth filled with a complete set of perfect white fanged teeth similar only to that of a wolf he'd once encountered.

She oozed dangerous, but never-the-less he had a job to do.

"State your name and business here in the village hidden in the leaves."

"You may refer to me as Shioni. And I have come for my... spouse? I believe that is the term humans use. My mate, my love. You understand." She makes a shooing motion with one of her hands whilst shrugging lightly.

"We have taken him? I don't understand." Sarutobi speaks in confusion.

"I'm not human." She offers as explanation. Noting that this doesn't seem to make much sense to him.

"My fox. You took my fox." She continue in another vague elaboration. He's startled but she knows he understands.

"I want my love. That is all." She says plainly. "I care not for you humans. Nor this place." She adds.

"Your love is the nine tailed fox?" He can't believe it. He has to confirm it... _she can't be serious._

"Yes." She nods.

"Where is he?" She presses.

"I'm sorry but, eight years ago the nine tailed fox was sealed into a new born." He says cautiously expecting her to explode in fury and tear his office up. His hand reaches for a kunai blade haphazardly strewn on his desk.

"He belongs to me. A vessel will not dissuade me." She says firmly.

"Look, I can't let you take him out of the village. He's a jinjuriki. He's an important asset to this village." He responds.

"Then I will remain here with him." She speaks naturally.

"That is... acceptable." He speaks after a moment of consideration. After the uchiha massacre the village lost a lot of power and with tensions rising between hidden villages Konoha could use any asset it could get. Eight years ago the nine tailed fox ran rampant, Sarutobi knew well the strength of a demon - _what one could be capable of._ This one he could tell was far stronger than the one he had encountered in the past. It is the air of superiority around her that gives her away. It was a fact he accepted. She remains silent and he uses the moment to think up some sort of compromise. "If you become a shinobi of this village, you can... You can have young Naruto." He tries to rationalize, feeling guilty surrendering Naruto so easily. _The boy was just a child after all._

"That is not a fair bargain. I have several requirements if I am to live in this place and service you." She speaks.

"What do you require? Whatever it is, within reason it will be done." Sarutobi says.

"I want Naruto, but understand something first, I am not a human. I am a demon. The standards of my culture are different from yours. As my status denotes I am to have various brides... There was once a time when I was king." Shioni says letting her words sink in before speaking once more.

"I care not much for my living standards nor materials, but I reserve the right to mate with whomever I wish. At which point they will be considered my possessions, my property. And thus you are to not interfere. Acceptable?" She regards him.

"Yes that is fine, but for the sake of procedure, I ask that you take this and keep a record of... your uh... property." He says handing her a blank form with then word clan neatly displayed at the top and a wax seal adorning on the bottom corner.

"Clan?" She reads.

"Yes, come up with a name for it and you can add the names of your 'brides' to it." He explains.

"The black blood clan." She says.

"Kurochi" He nods writing it down before adding the name Uzumaki Naruto to the list.

"Naruto?" Shioni asks.

"The boy is what's left of your precious fox." He denotes. Passing Shioni the paper. She touches in and it disappears. Sarutobi's eyebrows raise in confusion.

"I absorbed it." She says.

He shakes his head, _oh well_. He pulls open a drawer at his desk and pulls out a telltale Konohakgure forehead protector passing it to her.

"Wear this at all times. This forehead protector shows your rank as a konoha Shinobi." He says. She picks it up and ties it loosely around her neck. Sarutobi purses his lips thinking for a moment. Unsure of what rank to put her at. After a bit of consideration he decides on designating her as a specialty Jounin. This will allow him to send her on upper class missions, she's got the strength for it. He takes a few minutes to put some documents together for her. Taking her picture for an ID and making a copy of her mostly blank clan registry. Once that was completed he calls for a female anbu to take some funds and buy her shinobi gear and formal clothing.

Shioni saunters around his office in boredom as they wait for the anbu's return.

When the anbu returns she passes Shioni a scroll with everything sealed inside. It disappears the moment she touches it as well.

"Absorbed?" Sarutobi asks casually.

"Yes." She nods "And my fox?"

"Neko-san please take Shioni-sama to Naruto." Sarutobi orders.

"Yes Hokage-sama." The anbu speaks before motioning for Shioni to follow her. Sarutobi's face is stained red as he watched the sway of her hips as she exits his office. She really is beautiful, _despite being what she is..._

* * *

The anbu steers Shioni towards the top of an imposing rock wall that is decorated by the faces of what she guesses to be former leaders. A blonde boy dressed in all orange sits slumped over under a tree. His blond locks cast a shadow across his face.

Shioni knows immediately that this boy is Naruto. She kneels down before him and he flinches almost expecting her to strike him. At this she leans forward and pulls him into her arms, nuzzling her face into his neck and taking a deep breath. _Mm, he smells so good she just wants to eat him up._

"My fox, I have missed you." Shioni says holding Naruto tightly against her.

Naruto can't believe she's real. He thinks he's dreaming at first. He's so warm. No one has ever shown him affection, especially not like this. His eyes water and he cries. Naruto is so happy that he can't help himself. Shioni makes a sort of gurgling noise used to quiet the young of her kind. It sounds eerie to the observing anbu but it does what it's intended to do. Naruto relaxes in her hold.

She leans back and tilts his head up to look at her face. She rubs stray tears off his face with a knuckle of her finger and presses a kiss against his lips.

Naruto has never been kissed before but he thinks it feels nice. Though he also thinks it's odd that an adult would be working her tongue past an eight-year-old's lips. His thoughts are hushed as energy caresses his body. _It feels so good, he can't focus on anything else._

"Mm" Naruto's moan is quieted by her lips.

The anbu steps forward and places a hand on Shioni's clothed shoulder. "He's a child, you're an adult. That's not appropriate." The anbu states.

After a moment Shioni pulls back, in consideration before her body shifts.

Her proportions grow smaller and her clothing looser. She stops when she looks to be the same age as Naruto. She was a fully grown woman a moment ago and now she's a really adorable little girl... the anbu is confused, but Naruto doesn't really think much of it.

"Is that a henge? You're still an a adult." The anbu speaks.

"No. I simply altered my form to be what I once was." Shioni says.

"That's what I just said." The anbu stated.

"No, it's not an illusion. I'm a young child at this moment." Shioni says before nuzzling against Naruto's neck. She presses a light peck to his cheek before grabbing his hand and pulling him forward.

"Come on Naru, let's play!" Shioni says in a child's voice still heavy with accent. Her intelligence level and personality are the same, she just simply turned herself into a child. Shioni imagines that if she stays in her regular form that Naru will see her as a mother-figure rather than a companion.

He's her bride after all. She does not wish to be his mother.

Shioni's loose kimono drags on the ground as she walks and it slips off one of her shoulders.

She turns and flashes Naruto a toothy grin. "I'm Shioni, let's mate when you're older." She speaks innocently with a closed eye smile. Naruto doesn't seem to understand, still distracted by the fact that someone actually wants to be around him. _An anbu chokes from a hiding place._

"What do you wanna play, Naru?" Shioni asks turning to him and leaving behind the previous subject..

"Actually, let's go get ramen!" Naruto yells. Naruto tugs her along behind him by her hand. As they pass through town people mutter and say all sorts of rude things. Shioni, of course ignores them.

Whomever actually payed attention is surprised to notice the young girl hanging off Naruto's arm. Naruto is the object of most's hatred, a hatred that parents do well at passing along to their children.

When they reach the small stand Naruto hops up onto a stool and motions for Shioni to do the same.

"I'll have six chicken ramen and four beef ramen please!" Naruto yells bearing a happy smile.

"Coming right up. But who's this little lady you've got with you." Teuchi says, happy to see Naruto finally made a friend.

"This is Shioni, believe it!" Naruto yells with enthusiasm.

"Well Shi-chan is there anything I can get you?" The man says in earnest.

"No, I only eat meat. That's why my teeth are soooo sharp." Shioni says imitating a child the best she can.

"Really? Shi-chan is so cool!" Naruto yells.

Shioni smiles a bit. This Naruto is a cute kid, _despite being human born._ She ruffles his hair.

Naruto scarfs his ramen down greedily, and it's gone in what seems like a few seconds. Naruto grabs her hand again and takes off without paying when he finishes. "What do you wanna do now?" Naruto asks Shioni.

"Let's go home." She speaks.

"Kay." Naruto chirps.

Naruto takes her to a messy apartment. Shioni grunts and a series of blade tails sprout from the base of her spine and clear garbage and mess away in a matter of moments.

Her tails recede and she switches back to her eldest form. Her appearance is somewhere early to mid twenties and while she doesn't wish Naruto to think of her as a mother she prefers this form. She pushes Naruto into a bathroom, "Go on Naru, I'll finish cleaning up and make space for myself."

"You're staying?" Naruto looks up, hope fills his eyes.

"Yes." Shioni nods.

"Can't leave my fox behind, now can I?" She adds with a reassuring smile. "Now go." She pushes him into the bathroom and shuts the door.

* * *

Naruto exits the academy building with a big grin on his face and brand new forehead protector tied on his head. He passed the academy exam.

Shioni walks up dressed in a baggy pale blue kimono with her own forehead protector tied around her neck. Naruto leaps at her, pulling her into a bone breaking hug.

"I passed, Shi, I did it." Naruto says, still smiling.

"Good, I knew you would. My fox is strong." She speaks ruffling his hair. She turns and he follows. All around other academy students are congratulated by their parents.

A pale eyed man, Shioni now knows to be Hyuga something or another, cringes at the foreign language the two share. It's demonic and laced with hushed undertones of what sounds like minor voices. When others talk about it, they simply refer to it as 'demon speak' or 'demon language'. He imagines that in reality, the name isn't far off. The kyuubi-brat never talks to Shioni in the smooth Japanese Hisashi is accustomed too. Instead the two always speak like that, _it's disturbing. He wishes they would reserve such practices for private_ as he dislikes the morbid language.

A man with the long blonde hair steers his daughter away from Naruto and the demon woman. Everyone else seems to gossip about 'the demon brat becoming a ninja'.

A little girl with pink hair turns to her father. "Daddy, who's that lady? Is she Naruto's mom?" Sakura asks.

"That woman is Kurochi Shioni. I don't know, honey. I don't think so. People call her the incubus." Kizashi says to his daughter.

"Daddy, what does Incubus mean?" Sakura tilts her head in confusion.

"Ask your mother when you're older. I shouldn't have told you." He shakes his head at his mistake.

"Shi, what are we having for dinner? We should celebrate, believe it! Ya know, cause I'm a ninja now..." Naruto states with enthusiasm.

"Mountain lion or bear? I do not care which." She says ignoring the rest.

"Hm... dunno." Naruto chirps. Shioni groans in response, Naruto isn't great at making decisions.

Naruto gets up early, so he has time to get his morning training regiment in before he has to head over to the academy. This morning squads are being assigned. He glances over at Shioni, she's curled up in his bed still asleep. She doesn't look real. He can't find a single flaw. _When she's like this he forgets how deadly she is._ _She's appears his age again. She's been maintaining a younger appearance a lot lately._ Naruto thinks it's because she wants him to think of her as a 'mate' rather than anything else. She shifts and rolls onto her stomach, the blanket falling in the shuffle and exposing her bare back. Naruto sighs, he told her to stop sleeping naked next to him like that. On the off chance that someone does visit... he shudders at the memory.

Shioni had Naruto doing a chakra manipulation exercise and he slept for the better part of a day. Iruka let himself in, worried about Naruto. Shioni hadn't woken him. Instead she left him shirtless in bed and curled up naked next to him.

Naruto shakes his head, and stops reminiscing over it. He dresses in all black, ties his forehead protector in place and heads out, closing the door quietly behind him.

He does his 500 laps around the village, his 500 push ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and practices a few chakra manipulation exercises. 500, that's the number Shioni says he is to do. _Just a warm up, my ass._ Then she insists that everything be 500 so it is consistent. _Sometimes she could be a real pain in the ass but he still loves her._

 _She did so much for him. She's his everything. His sun. His moon._

As Naruto grew older he began to understand what he meant to her and what she meant to him. He knew the only reason their relationship was so platonic is because she still sees him as a child. Naruto knows that's she's waiting for him, that when the time comes - she'll take him as her's.

Another thing Shioni had instilled in him, was her culture. Explaining the Kyuubi, general demons, her status as a sort of king, and what it meant to be in a relationship with her. He knew she'd take other 'brides' and that he'd have to share her but he was okay with it. He knew she'd never leave him behind and that it wouldn't make her love him any less. To some degree he looked forward to it. Her other brides would become the family he never had. Shioni taught him to hunt, to fight, and even her language. She said that with the Kyuubi inside of him, makes him one of her kin and thus her language is also his language. He picked it up easily, it was familiar and natural to him. Eventually he began to favor it over Japanese and they only spoke to each other in it.

 _She left so much behind for him. She gave up her freedom for him, discarding her true shape and taking human form. She became a ninja of the hidden leaf so that she could remain with him._ She did it all for him. She didn't even hesitate. Naruto glances down at his hands, admiring the black tattooed marking on his fingers. These are his inheritance as her bride. She fed him her blood and power, over and over again. After awhile of it, the marks appeared. They're intricate and in constant motion. They're beautiful just like she is. Beneath the skin, the black blood that flows through his veins; Her blood. Naruto smiles and straightens his shirt as he heads to the academy building.

Naruto sits quietly in his desk. Ignoring the girls screaming about Sasuke. And ignoring Sasuke who glares at him. He doesn't know what the Uchiha's deal is and he doesn't really give a damn. He just hopes he doesn't get stuck on a squad with him.

Students fill in empty seats as the 'Sasuke-kun fan club' settles down. Iruka enters and gives his two 'yen' about being a ninja and graduation. Naruto zones out until his squad is called.

"Team 7: Kurochi Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

The pink haired girl yells in excitement. The uchiha groans and Naruto is... bored. He wonders what Shioni is doing. He's a bit jealous she didn't have to go through the processes he does. She's a jounin, she takes missions while he sits at a desk all day.

He doesn't know how she does it, but she's always at home when he gets there. Actually the first time she came to the academy was yesterday. She wanted to congratulate him, Naruto smirked. His peers must've been wondering who she was. Shioni is really beautiful, maybe they thought so too. Heh maybe that's why Inuzuka was staring at him.

In any case, Naruto waits. Jounin come to pick up their squads and eventually the room in empty aside from Sakura, Sasuke and himself. He groans. _This is going to take, too damn long. This wouldn't have ever happened to Shioni. She has a temper and she's made it clear that her time is precious._

Naruto passes the time thinking about Shioni and the Kyuubi. _It's odd for him to think that they (Shioni and the fox) were 'together'. Shioni, his beautiful Shioni and the Nine tailed fox that tore the ass out of his village._

Demons come in a huge variety. Shioni had tails but attributes of other sorts, she explained that it was because she consumed all kinds of beings. That she ate them and absorbed their bodies and their energy and sometimes took on attributes of their appearances and personalities.

Naruto never pressed for answers. He didn't care. She was just his Shioni.

It's another couple of hours before the classroom door opens and a head of silver hair peaks in. The Jounin takes a quick survey of the group.

"Hm, how should I put this? My first impression is: your a bunch of idiots." The Jounin nods.

"Meet me on the roof." He says before disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves.

As Sasuke moves to stand, Naruto jumps and phases through the ceiling just like Shioni taught him. He shoots straight up, his feet a few inches above the ground of the roof. Gravity pulls him down and he lands in a crouch before moving to a bench and sitting down.

The Jounin is already present, along with Shioni. _Why is she here?_

It takes a few minutes for Sasuke and his fangirl to arrive. When they do, they follow his example and sit on the bench.

"Alright. Why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time." The Jounin says in a tired, apathetic voice.

"Introduce ourselves? Well... what are we supposed to say?" Sakura yaps in a voice that mildly irritates everyone there. Well not Shioni, _it irritates her a bit more that just mildly, though it doesn't show_ but Naruto still notices.

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that." The Jounin speaks, shrugging.

"You first sensei!" Sakura says in a high pitched voice.

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate... mm, I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi says looking up.

"That was useless... all you really told us is your name sensei!" Sakura says.

"Okay, your turn. You on the right first." Kakashi interrupts.

"I'm Kurochi Naruto. I like training and meat. I also like Shi-chan. I hate annoying things. And I want to be the Hokage." Naruto says, smirking a bit when he hears Shioni snicker at being called 'Shi-chan'.

"Alright, next." Kakashi says, thinking over Naruto's statement. He's turned out in an interesting way.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, what I like uh.. I mean the person I like is..." She giggles and looks at Sasuke. "Uh. My hobby is uh..." Giggles and looks at Sasuke. "My dream for the future is..mmh!" She squeals and looks at Sasuke.

Sasuke looks like he wants to kill someone.

"And.. What do you hate?" Kakashi asks.

"Naruto!" Sakura yells in response.

Kakashi grunts, she's more interested in boys than ninja training. This is going to be a pain in his ass after all. "Moving on."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things. And I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Sasuke speaks with his hands over his mouth in deep seriousness.

"Okay, now that, that is out of the way.." Kakashi starts but, "What about her sensei! Why isn't she introducing herself?!" Sakura yells pointing at Shioni who is conveniently aged the same as Naruto.

"Oh her? She's the fifth member of team seven." Kakashi says.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Kakashi asks Shioni a bit curious about her, himself.

"I'm Kurochi Shioni. I'm a Jounin. That sufficient?" Shioni's voice drips with sarcasm and her usual accent.

"Hobbies? Likes? Dislikes.. Goals? And your accent, what language do you speak?" Kakashi asserts.

"I enjoy fighting strong opponents. I like Naruto, more so when he doesn't have a shirt on. In the future... I suppose I'd like to get laid. Ah and I dislike obnoxious things. I don't have an accent, everyone else does." She shrugs.

Well... Now Kakashi feels uncomfortable. Sasuke's eyes widen and Sakura cringes before getting red in the face.

"Ah good. Your each unique and have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi says before once again disappearing.

"Naru let's go home now." Shioni says walking forward. Sakura and Sasuke don't have a clue what she's saying. It's an odd thing to hear, it's guttural and mixed with a hissing noise.

"Excited to be on a team with me?" She asks Naruto.

"You know it!" He says with a big smile, looping his arm with her's and moving toward the ledge of the roof.

"Wait. You. Who are you? Why weren't you in the academy with us? You are our age." Sasuke asks Shioni. His face reddening when she meets his eyes. Her red tinted eyes, dark hair and pale skin makes her comforting to look at. She shares some resemblance with the Uchiha.

She's in line with Sasuke's preferences. Not that restoring his clan comes before slaughtering his brother but this girl is the most attractive one he's ever seen. _So why's she with Naruto? They have the same last name but they look nothing alike so they can't be related._ Sasuke wants answers.

"It's not any of your concern." Shioni says, exposing a mouthful of sharp 'fang-fang' teeth before she leaps over the edge after Naruto, effectively leaving Sasuke in a fouler mood than usual.

* * *

The following morning, Sasuke arrives to find Shioni and Naruto already there. Naruto doing fast sets of push-ups and Shioni leaning against a wooden post with her eyes closed.

He takes a moment to look at her, really look at her. She has atypical features, she's probably from a clan, Sasuke regards. Pigmentless skin, black claws, and what he knows to be a mouth full of fanged teeth and blood orange eyes.

Sasuke wonders if she has a kekkei genkai, he thinks it's likely. And she's dressed weird too, her hair flows loose behind her, she's dressed in a crop completely sheer fishnet hoodie that ends at the base of her diaphragm with a black chest wrapping under it, she has on standard black shinobi pants that ride low on her hips (probably boys clothing), a forehead protector tied around her neck, and she doesn't have shoes or any tools.

 _Why is she so fucking attractive?_ It makes Sasuke uncomfortable, no girl has ever affected him. Then again, he supposes that after he kills his brother he'll need someone to restore his clan with. This girl is perfect. With her features and his features, their children will be the perfect representation of the Uchiha.

Sasuke smirks. She's already a Jounin, he bets she's strong. _Shioni, huh?_ Sasuke decides that she is going to be his woman. _She'll also be an asset in defeating Itachi,_ which is another bonus in Sasuke's mind.

Shioni cracks an eye open as she feels the Uchiha leering at her. _Maybe something interesting will happen._ She closes her eyes again. _Though right now... it's fucking boring._

Sasuke glances over at Naruto to find that he has finished his exercise and sits cross legged glaring straight at him. Sasuke smirks back at him. "Hn" Sasuke turns back to Shioni, a blush crosses his face and he hears what sounds like a growl.

Sakura is next to arrive. She pesters Sasuke but has enough sense to leave Shioni alone. Sakura notices the pink on Sasuke's cheeks. Shannaro! He's totally into me! She thinks.

Kakashi is the last to show up, which is... expected. He mutters some bullshit excuse, Sasuke makes a noise and Sakura complains. Naruto and Shioni...they ignore the silver haired Jounin completely and talk quietly in their language.

Kakashi wishes he could understand them, and for that matter, so do the other two members of squad seven.

"Ahem." Kakashi says, gathering everyone's attention.

"Well let's get started. Here we go, it's set for noon." Kakashi says as he sets down an alarm clock.

"Your assignment is very simple, you just have to take these bells from me, that's all there is to it. If you can't get them by noon you go without lunch... You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." Kakashi continues.

"Wait sensei! Why are there only two bells?" Sakura asks.

"Anyone of you who can't get the bell goes back to the academy. Obviously, by default Shioni is exempt from this exercise. She is already a Jounin." Kakashi explains.

"Now then, if you aren't prepared to kill me you won't be able to take the bells. Now begin." The silver haired Jounin says.

Shioni relaxes back once again and closes her eyes, she knows what the outcome will be. Sasuke and Sakura jump away and hide. Naruto steps forward. Naruto channels chakra into his legs and smashes his body straight into Kakashi's. Pocketing a bell as Kakashi falls back. He hadn't been suspecting that. Naruto is faster than he should be, he just graduated the academy. That was at least Jounin level speed. Naruto holds up the bell and turns away from Kakashi. He sits down next to Shioni and lays his head on her shoulder.

"Uzumaki Naruto, pass." Kakashi amends a bit irritated that he was bested by a genin. His peers would laugh at him if they knew.

Sasuke grits his teeth. Naruto passed easily in the first couple of minutes and then he put his head on 'his' woman's shoulder. The Uchiha was pissed. He would not be shown up. He is an Avenger. He's going to kill Itachi. And he sure as hell isn't about to be shown up by that blonde dobe! Sasuke leaps out and attacks Kakashi head on with his clan's Kanton.

Kakashi would've normally been impressed by this but considering Naruto's performance... Kakashi just dodges and pulls out his new volume of icha icha paradise.

Kakashi gets behind Sasuke and knocks him out with a blow to the back of the head.

Kakashi then locates Sakura instantly, it doesn't take much effort if any at all. He gets her with a D rank genjutsu.

Sighing he decides to see if he can learn anything about the fifth member of team seven while he waits for Sakura or Sasuke to wake up.

He greets Naruto and Shioni with an impromptu "Yo." And a two finger salute. Naruto sits up straight and gives him a bored look.

Kakashi leans down and sits in front of the pair. He figures he'll start with simple questions.

"So... You two have the same last name. Why is that?"

Kakashi knows that Naruto is the fourth's son and up until age 8, he had been known as Uzumaki Naruto. And as for Shioni, he just knows she's foreigner and that the two of them are not in any way related. Somehow he doesn't expect an answer.

"When I came to this village I did not have a surname. After explaining my circumstances to your Hokage, it was decided that I would take Kurochi as my name." She explains apathetically, which surprises both Naruto and Kakashi.

Naruto simply did not think she would answer. She doesn't particularly like Japanese. She says it doesn't feel natural on her tongue. And Kakashi, he figured she'd ignore him as she's done previously.

"As for Naruto, Kurochi is a clan consisting of the two of us. So it's also his surname." Shioni finishes.

Kakashi raises a brow in surprise at that. The Hokage allowed them to create a clan? There's got to be more to it then that. Straightening he thinks of the next question.

"Why you and Naruto? I know you're not related." He asks and is again surprised when he gets an answer.

"Naruto and I, neither of us are human." Shioni says. Naruto's eyes widen. He knew it wasn't a secret exactly but she's being more straight-forward than usual. She's generally only open with himself. He's curious to know why she's answering Kakashi's questions.

"Not human, what do you mean?" Kakashi presses, worried about the answer.

"Naruto is the nine tails jinjuriki. They're interconnected. As for myself, I am a demon." She says.

"A jinjuriki also, you mean?" Kakashi asks, somewhat surprised that Naruto is aware of the fox.

"No. I'm a demon. I took human form and came to this village." She says matter of factly.

That was not what Kakashi thought he would hear. It certainly explains some things but if what she says is true... that's insane. Why would the Hokage allow a demon to inhabit Konoha?

"Why did you do that? And why does the Hokage allow you to stay in Konoha?"

"The Kyuubi and I were in a relationship similar to human marriage. I came to this village looking for him. The Hokage allows me to stay because I am an invaluable, powerful asset that is not a danger to Konohakgure." She answers.

"What does that make Naruto to you? Why do you take that appearance?" Kakashi asks.

"He's a bride of mine. I take this appearance because if I take my typical humanoid form Naruto will start to think of me as a mother-figure rather than... the true nature of our relationship." She says.

"Will you show me?" Kakashi can't help his curiosity.

"My general humanoid? I'm about your age... I suppose." She speaks as her appearance shifts and her clothing stretches.

Kakashi is suddenly glad for his mask, it hides the red that graces his cheeks. She's hot. In fact she's the most attractive woman he's ever seen. Suddenly he thinks he was hasty in his question. The language she used.. 'a bride of mine' that suggests...

"Wait, a bride of yours? Does that mean that you have multiple?" He asks gulping down a lump in his throat.

"Perhaps." She winks at him and smirks.

His heart is pounding. Is this what Rin felt...when she looked at him?

"I'm done with your questions now." She shifts her appearance back to that of a 12yr old and affectionately rubs the back of a clawed hand against Naruto's cheek.

He smiles and speaks something to her Kakashi doesn't understand. Soon the alarms goes off.

Sakura and Sasuke did not wake before it and so Kakashi went to gather them.

Upon his return he ties them each to a post. And gives some remarks of 'don't feed them'.

Shioni didn't pack a lunch so instead she grabs Sasuke's and Sakura's. She passes Sakura's to Naruto and walks up to Sasuke with his.

She considers eating it for a moment. But instead decides that Kakashi's reaction would be more amusing than Sasuke's.

She picks up the rice with her hands and shapes it into a ball, then holding the finished product to his lips.

"Why are you helping me?" Sasuke asks, a blush stains his face.

"Kakashi, his reaction... I want to see it."

Sasuke is a bit irritated with the answer she gives. He wanted her to say something that hinted she cared about him. He eats anyways. A jolt of pleasure races through his body as her hand brushes his lips.

What was that? It felt really good. Sasuke thinks it might have something to do with the kekkai genkai he is 'positive' she has. He looks over to see Naruto copying her example and giving Sakura her lunch.

After a few moments Kakashi pops back up. "I told you not to fed them! As a punishment, you all…. pass!" He says. Shioni frowns, that was not what she had been going for.

He tosses two kunai knives, freeing Sakura and Sasuke. Then he leads them to a memorial stone explaining the importance of teamwork.

Naruto and Shioni work well together but Kakashi worries how Sakura and Sasuke and himself even, fit into that.

Kakashi also goes on to explain that as a genin squad, they'll be taking D-ranking missions starting tomorrow. To which he then explains that himself and Shioni will not be expected to participate in because they're both Jounin.

* * *

"Sakura in position, shannaro! Over."

"Sasuke in position over."

"Naruto in position over."

"Shioni?" Kakashi asks through a group com piece.

"Shioni… point blank. Over." She speaks lazily as she pats the fur of Tora the cat.

Kakashi sighs and everyone walks over to where she is. Shioni passes the cat to Naruto and team seven walks to the Hokage tower.

When they enter the room, unsurprisingly the first person the old man greets is Shioni.

"Kurochi-sama, I trust you have been well and behaved yourself?" Sarutobi says conversationally.

"This team is ready for a C-Rank, the D-Ranks are not entertaining." She says ignoring his comment. Ah yes...There's the Shioni that Naruto loves.

"You're in luck. There's a man here from Wave, he requires an escort home and a guard until the completion of a building project. This mission is yours if you accept." Sarutobi answers.

"We accept." Sasuke deadpans.

"In that case, bring him in." The Hokage says to an anbu who disappears and returns with an elderly man.

"This is Tazuna the bridge builder. You head to Wave country immediately. Guard him with your lives and uphold the name of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." He speaks.

"Meet in front of the gate in twenty." Kakashi says before disappearing. Naruto and Shioni exist after him heading straight to the wall. They don't need to pack, Shioni absorbed all of their supplies so that they wouldn't ever have to pack…

Kakashi is next to arrive after them. Today he is on time. This makes Shioni think his tardiness is purposeful.

The arrival progresses in this order: Kakashi, then Tazuna, followed by Sasuke and finally Sakura who ran late and hauled a huge pack.

Tazuna grumbled and complained about being protected by children for awhile. Two of the three genin looked around curiously, this being their first time outside the village. And Sakura, she simply remained ignorant to her surroundings and stared at Sasuke.

Shioni admits that the brat isn't bad looking, but she also doesn't think he's anything special. On the topic of 'boys' she's more interest in the other Jounin member of the team. Hatake Kakashi, she wants to pull his clothing off.

She chuckles to herself earning weird looks from her teammates. She ignores them, as usual.

She notices the puddle, sensing the chakra coming from it. She… ignores it.

A few moments pass before two enemy ninja jump out from the puddle, they lunge for Kakashi but are stopped instantaneously as six blade-like tails impale them both.

They are killed instantly.

Naruto is not afraid. Shioni has taught him about death. Sasuke is even more awed by this dark-haired beauty. She's powerful, he didn't even see that!

Kakashi once again expected as much. As for Sakura, she's just not worth mentioning.

The two nin's chakra is sucked out through the three tails each is impaled with respectively. When all their chakra is gone, their bodies and clothes turn to dust, without any energy things can not exist in the world.

Shioni retracts her tails and rolls her shoulders.

"We continue." She says, effectively knocking everyone out of their stupor.

Tazuna is disturbed by what he just witnessed. That child just killed two people like nothing. _What goes on in a ninja village?_ _What makes them train children to kill like that?_

Seeing Shioni's technique confirms Sasuke's suspicion that she is a kekkei genkai user. This is good news to him, it means that their children will have both the sharingan and whatever her abilities are.

Kakashi's thoughts are elsewhere. _Enemy ninja mean that this mission is at least B-Rank, and when the chunin that attacked them don't return the enemy will send strong Nin. Meaning, the next ninja they encounter will likely be Jounin._

"This mission is at least B-Rank, if not A-Rank. We are returning home. This is a genin squad, they are not prepared for this and we have not been paid the proper amount." Kakashi voices and does not move forward.

The bridge builder mutters excuses and explains the situation. "If you leave now, my family and myself will die." He attempts to guilt trip them.

"Kakashi, you and I are both Jounin. That information is irrelevant. We continue on." Shioni argues.

Kakashi sighs, he's not going to argue with her. The genin are pumped to do a B-Rank, anyways. _Ugh, the Hokage is definitely going to chew him out for this. Although it might turn out okay, Shioni and himself are capable, Naruto is about least chunin level, and Sasuke isn't close behind._

They continue on.

Shioni is annoyed with the slow pace she has to take. _This mission will take days, if it was her alone it could be done in a few hours - perhaps less._

* * *

Time passes, Naruto throws a kunai at a shifting in the bushes. Upon inspection they find a white rabbit. Kakashi immediately becomes suspicious of it. He glances at Shioni, _yeah... She doesn't give a fuck..._ _How predictable..._

"Lookout!" Kakashi yells as a sword flies over their heads and imbeds itself in a tree. A man lands on it with his back turned to them. Shioni meets his gaze. _Maybe this trip will be interesting after all._

"Well well, if it's isn't Momochi Zabuza, rouge ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi greets.

Sasuke and Naruto move forward to attack.

"Stay back. You'll just get in the way. You're genin, he's in an entirely different league." Kakashi says.

"You poaching my fight, Hatake?" Shioni glares at his back.

"That's right, demon. And it's my fight." He taunts back.

Zabuza turns his eyes back to the girl. There's something off about her. "Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, did I get that right?" Zabuza asks.

Sasuke gasps in surprise, gazing at his sensei.

"It's too bad, huh. But you'll have to hand over the old man." Zabuza comments. _Shioni likes his voice._

"Now quick, fall into manji formation and protect the bridge builder." Kakashi orders and the genin do as told. He turns to Shioni.

"Manji formation. What are you doing?" He demands.

"I didn't attend the academy. I do not know what that is, though even if I did… You're a thousand years too early to be ordering me around." Shioni's voice comes out deeper than usual, and with her unnatural accent, well she definitely has Zabuza's attention.

"This is my fight." Kakashi grits out.

She shrugs, "And what of his teammate? Do you plan to take them both?" She asks.

The eyes of everyone widen in surprise.

"What?" Kakashi asks.

She points towards a mass of chakra she feels. Then she vanishes.

Well no, she doesn't vanish. She just moves faster than Kakashi and Zabuza's eyes could track. She appears again in a moment. Slamming a boy wearing a kiri hunter Nin mask onto the ground.

"This teammate." She inclines her head. The ninja groans and shuffles to his feet. He's pretty sure his shoulder is broken. He felt it crunch when she grabbed him.

When nothing happens she turns her back on them, moving towards the other three members on her team. "Continue on with the bridge builder. We'll catch up." She then speaks to Naruto, "Do me proud." And he responds with the telltale click and series of growl hiss sounds that no one understands.

"Have your fight Hatake. I'll supervise." She speaks with a yawn.

Kakashi and Zabuza jump into action. The hunter Nin leans his back up against a tree. Sidelined by broken bones but ready to step up if his master calls for him.

He watches this, Shioni, girl. _She isn't afraid. She looks bored… Her teammate called her a demon, people call his master a demon too._ He wonders if there's any similarities between the two. He gets a sneaking feeling that between her and Sharingan Kakashi, she is the more impressive ninja. _She knew he was there when no one else did..._

The fight goes as Shioni expects it would. Zabuza is an opponent that Kakashi can not beat without effort. His skills have grown dull since his anbu days and using the sharingan as he has been causes chakra strain. Kakashi's reserves are almost completely depleted and Zabuza is still standing. If this continues, he'll pass out from chakra exhaustion, _and then she'll have to fucking carry him._

Then it happens, Kakashi gets himself stuck in a water jutsu. Shioni watches him struggle to no avail. _She can't watch this anymore. This is fucking sad._ Her irritation is boiling over. _That stupid bastard wouldn't let her handle it._ She shifts into her older form.

"Fucking pathetic." She mutters quietly, a shadow covering her face.

"You insisted on fighting this fight. Look where your ignorance has landed you. You forget who I am. And you undermined my skills. To be beaten like this, you're a disgrace to the shinobi name." She looks up at him and he averts his eyes. She doesn't hold respect for weaklings.

"And now… Now I'm going to have to carry your fucking ass, because you felt like you had to have a motherfucking pissing match. How's al the grand standing working out for you?" She continues...

Kakashi is ashamed, and his opponent is stunned... Not only because of the change in her appearance but the amount of contempt she holds for weakness.

"You better hope you die Kakashi, because if you live through this… I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!" Finally reaching her boiling point, she darts forward.

She latches onto Kakashi's arm and tosses him… His back smashes roughly against a tree. He can tell that the arm she grabbed is broken. _That woman is far too rough, always breaking people's bones._

"Now sit there and shut the fuck up, while the adults handle this." She smiles, growling out words. He can barely understand her…

Then she turns to Zabuza. Appraising him for a moment. All traces of anger vanish. Before he knows what's happening. She's ripped the bandages off his lower face and pressing her lips against his.

She bites her lip, letting the blood drip into his mouth. Forcing him to swallow it. Then she just continues kissing him for seemingly no reason. _Crazy woman._

Eventually she pulls away. She turns leaving him behind and walks over to stand in front of the Haku.

She pulls his mask of with little resistance, then proceeds to bite down hard of her lower lip and press her mouth to his. Of course she then kisses him longer than she has to also.

Zabuza's mind is hazy. Her chakra pulsed throughout his body in an impossibly pleasant manner. Whatever she did... _Fuck, it was better than sex._ He barely bites back a moan. It takes his awhile to again become aware of his surroundings. All his wounds are healed and his chakra reserves are completely drained. He becomes aware of another thing, he glances down - he's fucking hard. _What did she do to him? She's no longer touching him but the feeling lingers._

He watches as she does the same thing to 'his tool'. _Though she seems more aggressive about it._ Holding his arms above his head with one hand and her other roams under his shirt. A feeling twists in Zabuza's gut, _is it jealousy? What did she do to him..?_

Finally she pulls away from Haku, the boy's lips bruised and he gazes at her from under hooded eyes, a flush across his face. She smirks and leans close to his ear.

"If you're good, maybe I'll reward you later." She chuckles and pulls away.

Three tails sprout from the base of her spine. One wraps around Haku, another around Zabuza, and the last around Kakashi. She lifts them in the air, in a hold that feels more affectionate than offensive.

As an after effect both Zabuza and Haku are dazed and don't protest. Kakashi while lucid is in a fair amount of pain and his chakra reserves are almost completely depleted, so he doesn't protest much either.

"You might wish to close your eyes and take a deep breath." Shioni warns before she darts in the direction Tazuna lead the genin.

The three comply with her warning. She's on them in a matter of seconds. She greets Naruto and Sasuke. And takes a slow pace beside the boat.

As Kakashi regains his bearings he realizes that she ran at least a few miles on water while carrying three people.

He's impressed yet again. _But there's a lingering pain in his chest. He doesn't know why her words affected him so much. Maybe she'd been right._

The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that in that fight he was the one that held her back, _not the other way around._ He refused to let her fight Zabuza. The genin made sense but Shioni is Jounin, also an adult, and she's not even a human either. Of course she'd fare better than him.

Kakashi still pushed himself.

 _He'd made the wrong call in doing so. Letting her handle it was the better option. Her methods aside, he watched her incapacitate four enemy shinobi without a scratch._

He sags in her hold. He hasn't felt this worthless since he was a child.

He wanted to impress her, and he didn't want to see her hurt. Of course that's unrealistic with their profession but he couldn't help himself... Something about young Kunoichi reminded him of Rin.

Kakashi thinks about Shioni as a person overall. She's apathetic to an extreme, too forward, brash and inappropriate, and she brutally crushes her enemies. Yet she is also funny, and strong... She protects what she cares about, and in moments like this one, no matter how angry she is or how bad her previous actions were... She makes up for them with brief but ever so present moments of compassion.

She told Kakashi she'd rip his head off and broke his arm but clutches him carefully as if he is something precious. His heart warms.

* * *

Time passes and the members of team seven, along with their client and two former kiri ninja head to Tazuna's house.

Upon their arrival they are greeted by a woman.

"Hello my name is Tsunami, Tazuna is my father. Thank you for bringing him home safely, my son and I are very grateful. Please make yourselves at home." She speaks with a big smile, as she hugs her father.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke, that is Naruto, Sakura, our Jounin sensei Hatake Kakashi and our other Jounin teammate, Kurochi Shioni." Sasuke returns.

The woman looks over the group. Three children? Then she turns to their sensei, he's being held in the air by a long metal… she doesn't know what it is but she can tell he's in bad condition.

She then turns to this, Shioni, assuming that she is currently in-charge.

Tsunami blushes as she looks her over. Shioni is roughly the same age as her but she seems so… unreal. She's almost too perfect to exist. Tsunami bet she has the attention of lots of men so she doesn't understand why she'd choose to become a shinobi.

Then she turns to looks at the metal things coming out of her lower back. The boy, Sasuke introduced everyone aside from two people Shioni carried. Who are they?

"Who are they?" She asks pointing at Zabuza and Haku.

"Our competition." Shioni shrugs.

"That's a poor answer. They are enemy ninja that we've captured, Tsunami-san." Kakashi speaks up finally.

"Is it safe to have them here like this?" She asks worried for the safety of her family.

"Shioni is very capable. They are no longer a threat." Kakashi returns. He turns to regard Shioni, she doesn't look at him. He cringes at a pained feeling in his chest. She's still mad at him.

Sasuke steps forward.

"Do you have rooms to show us to? It'd be appreciated. We're all tired and our sensei is injured." He speaks.

"Ah yes. Right this way..."

Tsunami leads them to two rooms.

"Sakura, Shioni take that one. Naruto, Sasuke and I will take this one." Kakashi tries to push himself out of her hold as he is still being held by her tail.

"No. Naruto and I will take this one, along with Zabuza and pretty boy." Shioni sets him on his feet, to which Kakashi immediately tumbles over.

"You can have the other." She speaks, looking him in the eyes for the first time in awhile.

"That's indecent! Women and girls should not share rooms with men!" Tsunami blurts.

"I am a shinobi. Do not think of me as a woman." She responds. Naruto opens the door and she walks in still carrying Zabuza and Haku. Sasuke moves after them.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kakashi questions the boy.

"I'm staying with my teammates." He glares. "And I prefer not to be harassed in my sleep." He gestures to Sakura who is staring at him intently with a line of drool dribbling down her jaw.

Kakashi sighs and hobbles into the other room with Sakura following behind. _This is going to be a rough mission._

* * *

 **A/N, this is my second attempt at fan fiction we'll see how it goes. Critique is appreciated but please refrain from crucifying me if you do not enjoy it. I'm not sure if I need a disclaimer or not but here it is; I don't own anything related to Naruto.**

 **Additionally, this story is M-rated so lots of warnings apply. I happen to like incorporating sex and violence into my writing. Another thing to note is that I like a lot of characters in Naruto and what inspired me to write this story was that I can never find a fanfiction that has all the pairings I like. This is essentially my attempt at writing a harem that doesn't fucking suck.**

 **Ah, and lastly.. This story is pretty new, I started this yesterday and having typing almost constantly, I've looked it over but there may still be a few grammatical errors.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

_"I think a curse should rest on me - because I love this war._

 _I know it's smashing and shattering the lives of thousands every moment - and yet - I can't help it - I enjoy every second of it."_

 _{Winston Churchill, letter to a friend, 1916}_

* * *

Sasuke pulls the door shut behind him. Shioni pulls a scroll out her stomach and passes it to Naruto. He unravels it and pulls objects out of it. Sasuke watches in interest. Naruto pulls out a series of sleeping mats and furs. He sets up a sleeping area, covering cushioned mats with pelts and then placing a large traditional style blanket cover. It's a deep navy and patterned with tsubaki and higanbana flowers. _That's ominous._

He turns to Shioni, he smiles. _Of course she'd sleep under blankets patterned with 'the death flower_ '. Shioni sets Zabuza and Haku down against the wall.

"What are you going to do with us?" Zabuza asks her cautiously. They both have been silent for a bit now, Sasuke was beginning to think Shioni was toting around corpses.

"If I'm not mistaken, the village hidden in the mist has been locked in civil war for these past years."

"That is correct…" Zabuza answers.

"The people are impoverished and outraged. Much of Kiri's military force has been lost. Most of their ninja have chosen to defect rather than tolerate imposed policies and corruption." She adds.

"That is also, correct." Zabuza inclines his head in surprise. _Where is she going with this?_

"Due to the current conditions, it is arguable that you both are refugees, survivors rather than rouge ninja. Besides, with tensions between villages rising… Konoha is not currently in a position that is prepared." She furthers.

Sasuke's eyes widen. _He had no idea._

"Prepared for what?" Haku asks.

"War." Her eyes harden in seriousness.

Naruto's jaw tightens and he looks down. _She's right and he knows it. Humans are selfish and will slaughter each other the second they are given an excuse to._

"Your recruiting us for your village?" Zabuza asks in surprise.

"No, it's much simpler than that." She leans forward, her face is so close to his that Zabuza wonders if she intends to kiss him again.

"I like you." She smirks before standing up from her crouch.

"Naru, inform the lady of the house that we will be imposing on her family's meal and humbly request water to bathe." She turns to Sasuke. Naruto stands up and walks through the door.

"If you stand on your own two legs, you may walk with us." She speaks almost metaphorically. "Sasuke, go assist him." She finishes. He nods and stands, opening the door before exiting.

"Your language. What is it?" Haku asks her.

"It hasn't a name. Others have referred to it as 'demon speak'."

"Tell me about yourselves." She adds.

"I am Momochi Zabuza. I have been given the title 'demon of the hidden mist' because I slaughtered all my peers to graduate kiri's ninja academy. Several years ago I defected and became a rouge Nin. I take any jobs I can to turn a profit. My hands have been dirty for a long time, I've done whatever I had to in order to survive." Shioni simply nods in acknowledgment, "And you?"

"I'm Haku of the Yuki clan. The current leader of Kirigakure, Yagura, ordered the killing of all kekkei genkai users. As my mother and I are both from the Yuki clan we possess a bloodline trait. My mother was killed and I was made an orphan. My master picked me up off the streets, trained me to fight and we defected together."

"You seem understanding, why is that?" He adds thoughtfully, before continuing... "No one else cared. All they saw was the bounty on our heads." Haku questions.

"Perhaps I am recruiting you." She laughs. "I'll allow a few questions, assuming you have some.."

"What now? What happens after this?" Zabuza speaks.

"After this we'll wash then eat." She laughs before giving her real answer.

"My squad will complete this mission and then we'll return to our village, you'll accompany us, accommodations will be made so you may come live with Naruto and I, and will be added to my clan registry." She says.

"That can't work. Your Kage will kill us. How can you say that so certainly?"

"Him and I have an understanding. As long as I remain at his disposal he allows me to do as I like. I'll register you two as part of my clan and he won't touch you." Zabuza doesn't know what to think. _This situation is ridiculous._ He didn't think something like this was even an option. After leaving Kiri he figured that he'd die a rouge Nin. Now he's being given the option to live the life of a Konoha shinobi. _Heh, that's a thought.. Zabuza the demon going the village notorious for hand-holding its young. Those Konoha bastards hold friendship above everything else. By that definition, Shioni doesn't really seem to fit._ She has an accent he isn't familiar with so Zabuza doubts she is Konoha born.

"Where are you from? Why are you a Konoha shinobi?"

"I came to that land four years ago in search of the nine tailed fox. Naruto is Konoha's jinchuriki, the Hokage and I came to an agreement of sorts. I service the village as a tokubetsu Jounin and in return am allowed to establish myself there." In light of this knowledge it makes sense to Zabuza how they'll be allowed to stay. _But…_

"Why did you look for the Kyuubi?"

"He is my kin. We once roamed free together and then one day he vanished… I looked for him. I looked for 8 years. And when I found him… He had been sealed into a beaten and neglected child." Her voice grows stiff and her hands ball into fists. Haku glances at her face. _She's just like him. She became a tool to protect the person she cares for._

"Look, I've been picking up the pieces of my fragmented existence. And I.. I do not wish to watch the two of you die. I am a monster, yes. But I am not unreasonable." Her tone turns solemn and she looks Zabuza in the eye.

"I wish for you to become mine. Do we have an understanding?" Shioni asks in earnest.

"In what sense do you mean?"

She stands and tugs his wrist to urge him to do the same. Confusion shines clearly in his face but he does as she expects. She gently pushes him down onto the makeshift bed Naruto set up for her and himself and well… _with extra room for whoever else_. Shioni presses a hand flat against his chest, he understands now. _Heh, not that he's opposed to it.. she is pretty attractive._ He leans his face to hers, connecting their lips. Their sharp teeth knock together but neither seem to care. He pulls her onto his lap, grinding their hips together roughly.

Zabuza reaches up and tugs her forehead protector loose from her neck and tosses it at the door. She slips her fingers into his hair and grabs his throwing it in the direction he threw hers. She grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it up over her head, discarding it haphazardly.

Zabuza's hands unravel the bandages restraining her chest. His thumb flicking against a hardened nipple. He rolls her over onto her back, leaning over her, he takes a rosy bud into his mouth. Her head leans back and she lets out a moan. Soon she feels his hands working down her body, just stopping before the top of her pants. Gripping the fabric he tugs them down, she lifts her hips to make it easier. Finally she kicks them off and away from her.

He's on her again, running his fingers up against her clothed sex. She pushes her lips against his to quiet herself as he urges her underwear down her hips. He moves away and begins to tug on his own pants. She follows his muscled chest with her eyes, slowly taking in the v in his hips to his now exposed erection. He lays back and she moves her face over his hardened shaft. Cupping the base she takes him into her mouth. He groans in response and then again in frustration when she pulls away.

Her body is hot and she can't wait anymore. She shifts her hips over his and throws her head back in a throaty moan. She sets a rough fast pace, slamming her hips aggressively against hers. His hands grip her hip hard enough to bruise as he pushes her down onto his dick.

* * *

After relaying Shioni's message to Tsunami, Naruto and Sasuke went to train behind the house. Naruto knew what Shioni was doing. He was irritated that she made him leave but he understood why. _She needed him to make sure she wasn't bothered and to distract Sasuke, the boy had been hanging off her lately._

"Hey dobe, what was that thing you did to get the bell from Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asks being more talkative than usual. Other than Shioni, Naruto has never had a friend. _He wonders if Sasuke could be that to him._

"I channeled chakra into my legs and used my legs to propel myself forward. I can show you a few chakra exercises if you're interested." He offers, Sasuke nods.

"Will you show me the fire jutsu you used?"

Sasuke grins.

The sun sits low in the sky, night approaches. Tsunami walks out onto the back deck to let the boys know that dinner is ready. _She knows that Shioni didn't expect her to feed them but she wanted to express her gratitude for keeping her father safe and not abandoning the mission._ "Naruto, Sasuke! Dinner's ready!" She calls.

They turn to her and walk inside after her. "Naruto would you mind helping me set the table?" She asks kindly. He shrugs. "Oh and Sasuke, would you mind fetching your teammates? They haven't come out of their rooms." She smiles at him. He too nods and walks soundlessly upstairs.

Walking to the closest door he opens it and peaks into the room. "Sensei, Sakura. Tsunami wishes you to come down for dinner." He says taking a moment to observe the two. Sakura is scrawling information into a pink notebook with a stupid grin plastered on her face and Kakashi is reading a orange book titled 'Icha Icha Paradise'. They look up and stand to follow him out of the room. Sasuke walks down the hall to the next room. He opens the door but the lights are out and he can't see anything. Not thinking anything of it, he moves forward. His foot bumps something that makes a clinking noise. The light from the hallway comes in through the cracked door behind him.

He's able to make out, a kiri and a Konoha forehead protector. He gets a weird feeling. _It feels almost symbolic that they've been discarded this way._

He opens the door behind him because it's too dark to see much else. Sasuke turns looks around the room, his eyes finally landing on his target. Shioni lays bare in the embrace of the two enemy ninja. The blanket bunches just above the top of her butt, it's clear to Sasuke that all three of them are naked. His face goes red in anger and embarrassment. "Dinner is ready." He grunts out before marching out of the room and slamming the door loudly behind him.

After Sasuke exits the room, Shioni sits up and stretches. Her body feels good and loose. She shrugs off the after effects. Zabuza watches her as she works her clothing on and pulls on his own. He looks over to find Haku already dressed. _That was something. He can't remember a time that he's slept better. Hell he hasn't had sex that good_. He slaps a hand against her butt as he walks past her and into the hall.

Shioni passes him on the way down the stairs and walks into the room where everyone is eating. _Guess they decided not to wait..._ Sasuke blushes when she meets his gaze and averts his eyes. She pulls out a chair and seats herself at the opposite head of the table. She sits across from Kakashi who gives her a strange look. Naruto sits on her right, and Zabuza moves to sit on her left. Haku takes the empty space between Zabuza and Sakura. Kakashi watches the spectacle in surprise. Just a few hours ago these people were his enemy and now they sit at the same table. _It's odd. In the shinobi world things like this don't happen._

Sakura watches Shioni for a few minutes in confusion, _she's surprised no one else has commented on it._ "Hey, why's Shioni look older now? I thought she was our age?" Sakura voices. Sasuke makes a face, _oh yeah, and there's that too_. At Sakura's question Naruto spews a sip of water out of his mouth and starts laughing maniacally. Kakashi's lips turn up and Sasuke's eyes narrow in irritation. _He doesn't understand either._

"I'm a demon. This is my humanoid form. I typically chose to appear younger… Because, hm… Because I feel like it." She nods and takes a sip of water. That statement earns her several looks. Zabuza and Haku were not aware of that. Then again the only people who knew were Naruto and Kakashi. "Haha that's funny, lady." Inari pipes up. "Why?" Shioni responds in confusion.

"...you're not joking. Are you?" Sasuke says.

"No. I'm not." She shrugs.

"So… you're a demon…?" Sakura stutters.

"So…..you're a human?" Shioni responds raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yes. Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know, why would you ask? I've already told you and considering you're a tad young to be going senile… hm, stupid or retarded then?" She purses her lips resting a hand on her chin in mock consideration before a feral grin works its way onto her face.

Sasuke covers his mouth to stop from laughing. The look on Sakura's face is hilarious. Naruto just shakes his head.

"Shioni don't pick fights, Sakura don't ask stupid questions." Kakashi says.

"Hey, but sensei!" She squeals.

The rest of the mission goes smoothly, at some point Shioni got fed up waiting and goes off to take out Gato and his underlings. After that team seven, along with two former kiri Nin head back to Konoha. Upon return to the village, they all report to the Hokage's office.

The old man eyes Zabuza and Haku as the group enters his office. Sarutobi imagines that the mission report will explain them. "Kakashi, report. What was the outcome of the mission?"

"Mission was a success, along the way were encountered enemy ninja from Kiri that had been hired by the opposing side. Shioni took care of two and then brought these two along with us, as to why, you'd have to ask her." He shoots her an irritated look before continuing. "After that everything went smoothly, but again too slow for Shioni's liking… She went after the man targeting our client and was successful. Here is the payment from the bridge builder." Kakashi pulls a small pouch filled with coins from his pants pocket and places it in front of the Hokage.

Sarutobi turns to Shioni. "Kurochi-sama, report." He speaks stiffly.

"I dispatched 2 chunin level Nin, the man targeting our client and 50 or so of his underlings. The genin were well behaved. Ah and I took this from the crooked guy's base." She grunts pulling a scroll from her stomach and unsealing it's contents all over the floor. Huge sacks filled with goods, jewelry and currency spill filling the a good majority of the room. Kakashi's mouth is agape but of course no one can tell because of his mask. Naruto expected as much, and Sarutobi is pleasantly surprised. "So it went better than expected?" Hiruzen affirms. "It was interesting."

"Alright, Shioni, what's this costing me?" The Hokage speaks, straight to the point as always. "Haku and Zabuza will be registered as Konoha shinobi and will be added to my clan registry. Also I require a larger living accommodation. Naruto's one room apartment is not spacious enough for four people." Shioni says.

"She can live with me!" Sasuke blurts out before he can stop himself. She turns and looks at him, his face goes beat red. "I um have lots of space… and ah I wouldn't mind.." He tries to explain.

"That's fine, you four can live on the Uchiha compound. I'll get the proper paperwork together and we can talk about what rank to place them at. You have your registry on you?" Sarutobi asks her. She nods and pulls a document from her stomach and passes it to him. The Hokage writes their names onto it and slides it back to Shioni. He opens a drawer and pulls two forehead protectors from it handing them to Haku and Zabuza. The two hesitate for a moment before removing their kiri ones and tying the Konoha ones into place. Shioni turns to Zabuza, pulling his sword from her stomach and hanging it to him. "I took this. You can have it back now."

"Heh thanks." He smiles a bit.

"Are we finished? This is no longer of interest to me." Shioni says. Kakashi sighs at her disrespect. "Yes, that is all. You two, come back here tomorrow. We'll work out your paperwork and whatever supplies you need then." He speaks to Zabuza and Haku.

"Naru and I are heading back to grab our things from the apartment. S'uke, show Zabuza and Haku to your house. We'll meet you when we're finished." Shioni orders, ignoring Sakura and Kakashi. Sasuke blushes at the nickname.

Naruto and Shioni split from the others and head off towards their shared apartment. Naruto laces his finger with hers, a smile tugs its way onto his face. They take a slow pace walking leisurely through the village - in their own world, until they're interrupted by the shrieking of a little girl. Shioni turns her head surveying the situation. The Hokage's grandson is being held in the air by a Nin from sand. _What a pain_. Shioni addresses the shinobi.

"You might want to unhand the Hokage's grandson. Someone may take offense to your actions." The foreign Nin turns to Shioni. His eyes go large and he drops the kid. This woman reminds him much of his brother. _Sure, she's beautiful but she's got the same frightening aura._ This woman, she scares Kankuro. "Konoha, get lost." Shioni says to the brat who whines but does as she says.

"Hey, it's Konohamaru!" The kid squeals. The demon woman makes a 'tsk' sound and waves her hand dismissively as if swatting away a bug.

"Kankuro. I'll kill you." A red head speaks to the one Shioni has mentally designated as 'transvestite cat-boy'. The red haired boy vanishes and reappears on the ground in a whirl of sand. Shioni looks him over, recognizing his true nature from the demonic sand.

"Shukaku." Gaara's eyes almost bulge out of his head. _This woman just called him Shukaku. How did she know?_

"It has been long since we have been together. Do not tell me you have forgotten me." She speaks to Gaara in a language he doesn't understand but it sounds so familiar to him. Shioni moves toward him. She is pleased to find another one of her kin alive. She embraces the boy. Temari and Kankuro don't know what to think. _This strange woman is holding Gaara. No one touches Gaara._

The constant whispering of the Shukaku quiets in Gaara's head as the woman holds him. Gaara doesn't know how she's touching him. "Who are you? What do you want with the Shukaku?" He demands. Shioni pulls back and untangles herself from the boy. Naruto tugs on her arm asking his own question. "Shukaku? Is he like you or me?" The blond asks quietly. Gaara flinches at the odd language the two speak.

"Like you." She responds, ignoring Gaara's questions.

"We are of the same kind. Do you truly not know?" She answers finally, directing her question towards the red-head. "Of the same kind? You have a demon in you like Gaara?" Temari asks hoping the woman doesn't threaten her as Gaara often does.

"No. I am a demon." She grins.

"My Naru is the same kind as him." She adds. Gaara turns to Naruto. "You're a jinjuriki?"

"Of the Kyuubi, yes." He responds. _Shioni tires of this. It's boring._ She nudges Naruto with her shoulder and the two walk off. Course, not before she latches onto Gaara, picking him up bridal style. "You look tired. Sleep for a bit." She mutters absentmindedly. "I'll be borrowing this for bit _bigger_ sister. Ah but don't worry he'll be home before midnight." Shioni laughs with mirth as dismisses the complaints of Gaara's siblings, goading the pigtailed-girl a bit.

"Naru say goodbye to the nice lady." He too laughs, "Bye bye, one-chan."

Shioni and Naruto and technically Gaara, enter the Uchiha compound. There's a large traditional Japanese home. They walk inside to find Sasuke waiting. "Who's that?"

"My new toy." Shioni responds. Sasuke knows better than to ask, instead he motions for her to follow him down the hall.

"This one is my bedroom. Haku and Zabuza picked those two. There are a few more guest bedrooms you can take in this wing of the house." He points to three rooms. Shioni turns to the room across from Sasuke's, he didn't say this one was taken. Before he can stop her she walks into the room and pulls a scroll from her stomach. The room is spacious with a closet and large window. There is a dresser. Shifting Gaara so he's draped over her shoulder, she walks over to it and opens it to find the monochrome clothing of someone who she assumes is a teenage boy.

Shrugging she closes the drawer and begins setting up her things. "This was Itachi's room. You shouldn't sleep here." Sasuke says from the doorway. "I'll have this room." She responds leaving no room for argument. He grunts and take Naruto to a room down the hall. Shioni sets up her sleep mats and furs. Laying Gaara down she takes his shoes and sand gourd off, setting them against the wall. She tucks him into her 'bed' and pulls the Tsubaki and Higanbana covered blanket over him adding places a pillow under his head before she leans forward and gently kisses the kanji on his forehead.

Pulling back, she bites her wrist hard enough to draw blood and allows it to drip into the mouth of the unsuspecting red head. The wound heals and she stands, adjusting her form back to that of a teenager rather than an adult woman. Satisfied, she exits the room, fiddling with her wrappings and pants so they fit properly. Shioni walks back down the halls and greets Sasuke in the kitchen. "Finished unpacking?"

"Didn't have much to unpack." She shrugs, brushing her shoulder against his. She looks over at what he's doing, "I'm making myself something to eat." She notices the red fruits. "Tomatoes and rice?"

"Tomatoes are my favorite."

"...Naru and myself don't have much money. We hunt for meat and I grow fruits and vegetables for him, this is your house, but if you allow me… I will keep a garden. Aside from food, I grow herbs, poisons, and plants that I like to look at." Shioni speaks averting her eyes when he turns his head to look at her face.

"It was my house, but this is your home now. You can do as you like." Sasuke blushes and looks away. "S'uke, thank you." She brushes her hand across his cheek and smiles at him. "S'uke?" She tilts her head, watching his pink face become a darker shade.

"I… I want you to live in this house with me. And when I'm a bit older, I want you to rebuild my clan with me." He won't look her in the eyes and his voice shakes at first. "I know what you did with Zabuza but I still want you to be my woman."

"I'm not a human. My culture is very different from yours. I'll be with you but you have to understand something… you'll belong to me, you won't have other women. But I, I'll be yours but you'll have to share." She urges him to look at her. "Can you accept that, Sasuke?"

"If that's the cost to be with you, I'll deal with it. But that doesn't mean I'll like it. And, Naruto, is he that to you, also?"

"You know the answer to that." She leaves him behind and moves silently through the house. Shioni walks around the side of the building. She looks for a good place to set up. She glances at the ground, pulling sand deep from the earth, and heating it so hot it turns to glass. She shapes it into a strong dome shaped structure, the glass isn't smooth at any point and reflects her image in jagged pieces. _It's beautiful, natural made artwork._

Shioni flattens the dirt ground and pulls large rocks, just as she did the sand. She redirects underground flows of water and creates a small stream in her glass dome. Pulling a heavy bag filled with seeds from her stomach, she passes the bag to one of her tails. The seeds are spread around at random. She then makes a medium sized glass container that protrudes out of the soil. Shioni pulls a second large pouch from her stomach and dumps the seeds into the circle shape of glass.

Best she keep the poisons separate from the other plants. Finally with everything as she likes it, Shioni channels her chakra into the seeds and plant clippings. They sprout and grow to abnormally large sizes, quickly filling the space. She nods her head, this is sufficient for now.

Naruto walks in through the open arch of glass. "Wow this is better than the one you made last time." She nods in acknowledgment.

"Kakashi and Sakura are here, also, your guest is awake."

Shioni walks back around the side of the house and enters to find Kakashi and Sakura talking with Sasuke. Kakashi senses her presence immediately and turns to her, "Shioni."

"Kakashi." She returns, staring him down. "Still mad, are you?" He asks. "Irrelevant. You did not come here for me. What have you to say?" Her eyes narrow to slits and she bites back a warning growl.

"Ah yes, that… Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto…. I've signed you all up for the chunin exams. But Shioni, you and I need to talk." Kakashi speaks in earnest, which turns to surprise at the expression Sasuke and Naruto give him. The two boys move slightly in front of her, in her current form it's enough for his vision of her to be obscured. "I see you three have grown close." He grimaces. There's a rift in team seven, and it's grown wider. It's almost as if there are two team sevens. There's one consisting of Sakura and himself, and another lead by Shioni. _Sasuke just changed sides._

Kakashi has his work cut out for him. _Part of his team is cohesive but not with him as leader. Sakura was the only one that listened to him anymore._ Kakashi knew he'd lost Shioni's respect. "Shioni, please.." If she would just forgive him then things would go better, Naruto and Sasuke would follow her lead and their group teamwork would be better than it had ever been. His thoughts are shattered, "Don't say her name like that. She's nothing to you." Sasuke speaks in a low voice, like he's staking a claim. "The day is growing late. I have things to attend to. Perhaps another time, Hatake-san." Shioni mocks.

"Naru, get Zabuza and Haku out of their rooms, grab our guest as well. Sasu, I'm stepping out for a moment to grab something we can have for dinner, set the table and wait for my return. And you two, feel free to follow me out." She switches languages as she speaks, making it clear that Sakura and Kakashi are not welcome. Kakashi sighs before nudging the pink haired girl to follow the woman.

Gaara turns over in bed, sitting up he begins to panic. _He fell asleep! And this bed, whose bed is this? Where is he?_ "Shioni brought you here. She's out right now, but she wanted you to rest." Gaara turns to see the blond boy from earlier, he leans against the open doorway. "So you coming, or what? I still have to wake the others." Naruto frowns. "So, your name is Gaara?" He asks, trying to make conversation as the red haired boy pulls himself out of bed. "I'm Naruto." He continues.

Gaara doesn't respond but follow him to another room. Naruto knocks on the door and pulls it open. A muscular man sits shirtless and sharpens a very large sword. "Sasuke's in the process of putting together something for us to eat. You could head to the kitchen." Naruto speaks to him. The man looks up and he looks directly at Gaara. This man is also not afraid of him. Gaara is surprised though he does not show it.

"Alright, Shioni around?" He asks.

"She'll be back soon." Naruto says as he leaves the room leaving the door open, with Gaara in tow. He walks to another door. Not even bothering to knock this time he pushes the door aside. Another boy who looks very much like a girl sits on a windowsill and pulls a comb gently through his long hair. "I'll be out in a few minutes." The boy smiles at the two before Naruto can speak. He shrugs and leaves the room.

Naruto moves to sit at a table, motioning Gaara to sit beside him. Gaara pulls a chair back at the head of the table, but the blond grabs his wrist and stops him. "No, not there. Sit on the other side of me." He does as he's instructed. "Let's talk for a bit, ya know, jinjuriki to jinjuriki." Naruto chuckles in mock seriousness. "Not much of a talker, I'll start easy, so you're from Suna?"

"Yes... Are all those of the leaf, as strange as you are?" The red head speaks in a deep, raspy voice.

"Strange how?" Naruto asks. "You're not afraid of me, neither was the woman from earlier and the others... They do not fear me." Gaara responds. Naruto just shrugs, "Maybe you didn't notice but we're pretty much a ragtag group of demons, remnants of clans, and plain killers."

"Plain am I, kid? Hm, that's not very nice." Zabuza chuckles as he enters the room and sits across from Gaara. He leaves the left of the head spot open. It seems like an odd spot for him to pick. "Gaara, this is Zabuza and that is Haku." Naruto motions to the second person who enters the room. The boy, Haku takes the seat on the other side of Gaara.

"Which are you?" Zabuza asks the teal eyed boy.

"A demon."

"Heh funny, they used to call me that back in Mist. I've seen demons, you don't look like one." Gaara doesn't say anything but his heart is thumping erratically. He's happy in his own way even if he can not believe these words. Sasuke walks into the room, having set up what he could while waiting for Shioni's return. _She's taking her sweet time._ He sits left to the head of the table and shares a nod with Naruto.

"Any questions?" Naruto asks watching Gaara intently, ignoring his best friend's entrance. "The woman… which one of you is she with? What is your relation to her?" They all seem to laugh at his question. What is that funny? Do they think him stupid? Gaara felts irritation rising. "Why are you all laughing?" He grits his teeth.

"She's with all of us. How didn't you pick up on that?" Naruto laughs. Gaara's face goes red, "...All of you?" That thought makes Gaara uncomfortable. _Four men for one woman, that sort of…_ Gaara gulps and shifts in his seat. "Why am I here?" He asks, only to again receive laughter. "I imagine that Shioni has taken an interest in you." Zabuza answers with a shrug. _It doesn't bother him much._ "Hah could always be some of her damn demon kindred shit. She takes that sorta thing real serious." He remarks.

"Hey Gaara, let me see your hands." Naruto says. The boy cautiously lifts them, noticing black markings running along the tips of his fingers. _When did those get there?_ Naruto examines Gaara's fingers then nods something to himself. "Looks like you're already one of us."


End file.
